DARLINGTON - The Lafayette County Fairgrounds was submerged this weekend after heavy rainfalls caused flooding throughout Darlington.
The Pecatonica River reached a flood crest of 15.35 feet after repeated downpours Thursday and Friday. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the average water level of the Pecatonica is just under 4 feet.
Director of Darlington Public Works Jeremy Williams said although the flood was the first of its magnitude in quite some time, no residential damage was reported.
"It opened some holes in the blacktop around here and eroded some of the blacktop seams," Williams said. "But mostly it's just mud."
Wade Berget, Darlington Parks and Recreation Department director, corroborated Williams' analysis, saying that the flood waters had crested some riverside roadways but caused little damage beyond leaving debris behind.
Although the flood waters caused little disruption in Darlington, the fairground where the Lafayette County Fair was held one week ago was utterly submerged.
The Lafayette County Fair Committee is in the process of retiring the fairground for precisely this reason, as its location in the Pecatonica floodplain is not ideal for expansion or renovating its aging buildings, committee chairman Jack Wiegel said in May.
Williams said the flood waters would likely recede by the end of the week. Entrance into the fairground is prohibited until then.
The results of the flooding were less dramatic in town. Brothers Tim and Tracy Wiegel, owners of Xtreme Clean Car Wash in Darlington, closed their business for three days, but Tracy Wiegel said the only damage it caused was financial, not physical.
"Between lost business and labor, I'd say it cost us over $1,000, easy," Tracy Wiegel said.
Xtreme Clean, located mere feet from the Pecatonica River on Washington Street, was under about two feet of water during the flood, Tim Wiegel said, although he added that they had removed sensitive equipment from the building before the river rose.
On Monday, the car wash had reopened and the Wiegel brothers hosed off the mud caked across the pavement.
"Really that's all we're doing now, just cleaning off the mud," Berget said.
Berget estimated cleanup would continue until the end of the week, when the river is expected to return to ordinary levels.
According to data from the National Weather Service, this weekend's flood saw the Pecatonica River's highest crest since 2008, when the river swelled to 15.75 feet in June. The river's highest ever recorded level was 20.71 feet in 1950.
The Pecatonica River reached a flood crest of 15.35 feet after repeated downpours Thursday and Friday. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the average water level of the Pecatonica is just under 4 feet.
Director of Darlington Public Works Jeremy Williams said although the flood was the first of its magnitude in quite some time, no residential damage was reported.
"It opened some holes in the blacktop around here and eroded some of the blacktop seams," Williams said. "But mostly it's just mud."
Wade Berget, Darlington Parks and Recreation Department director, corroborated Williams' analysis, saying that the flood waters had crested some riverside roadways but caused little damage beyond leaving debris behind.
Although the flood waters caused little disruption in Darlington, the fairground where the Lafayette County Fair was held one week ago was utterly submerged.
The Lafayette County Fair Committee is in the process of retiring the fairground for precisely this reason, as its location in the Pecatonica floodplain is not ideal for expansion or renovating its aging buildings, committee chairman Jack Wiegel said in May.
Williams said the flood waters would likely recede by the end of the week. Entrance into the fairground is prohibited until then.
The results of the flooding were less dramatic in town. Brothers Tim and Tracy Wiegel, owners of Xtreme Clean Car Wash in Darlington, closed their business for three days, but Tracy Wiegel said the only damage it caused was financial, not physical.
"Between lost business and labor, I'd say it cost us over $1,000, easy," Tracy Wiegel said.
Xtreme Clean, located mere feet from the Pecatonica River on Washington Street, was under about two feet of water during the flood, Tim Wiegel said, although he added that they had removed sensitive equipment from the building before the river rose.
On Monday, the car wash had reopened and the Wiegel brothers hosed off the mud caked across the pavement.
"Really that's all we're doing now, just cleaning off the mud," Berget said.
Berget estimated cleanup would continue until the end of the week, when the river is expected to return to ordinary levels.
According to data from the National Weather Service, this weekend's flood saw the Pecatonica River's highest crest since 2008, when the river swelled to 15.75 feet in June. The river's highest ever recorded level was 20.71 feet in 1950.